THE ARTOF DYING
for well over a decade. He is a real Antipodean, Anglo Saxon man, don’tshow-any-emotion type. There is a desperate inability to express love for each other which is very funny, because you know they want to.’’
In her first appearance on the Centrepoint stage, Kiwi comedy legend Ginette McDonald, perhaps most well known for the girl from the suburbs, Lyn of Tawa, takes up the part of the mother.
‘‘It’s a pretty out-there play about some pretty extreme behaviour. They are pretty unconventional people but because it is so beautifully drawn there is a universality about the feeling of it. Family, loss and love in all its warped forms.’’
The son is played by Chapman Tripp Theatre award-winning actor Alex Greig and it is his first time on the Centrepoint stage as well.
‘‘He’s dealing with the death of his sister as well that happened some years before, he’s a writer in the theatre. The big thing for him is his sister’s death which is hanging over him.’’
McDonald rates Greig, saying he is a ‘‘fine young actor, he transforms on stage’’.
Devenie says the plot unfolds in ‘‘interesting and unexpected ways, you’re never quite sure where it’s going to go next’’.
‘‘For me one of the interesting things about the structure of the piece is that Alex’s character has such a strong relationship with the audience, which is in fact the truthful one, because the two parents distort the realities. So, there’s kind of a relief when he comes and unburdens to the audience.’’
Newport says that is reflected in the set as well.
‘‘Mother and father are off to the sides in their own little worlds and then the son is literally stuck in the middle. There are also scenes where the son thinks about how it should have been like – imagined scenes.’’
Daniel Williams has been charged with the set and costume design. He created the man cave for Pink Hammer and says this one is quite simple.
‘‘This one is nearly in the round, it’s an actor piece and the set just really supports them. So I kind of came to this idea of having three panels which sort of represents the three actors and the three characters that turn around and transform as the story goes on. We move from old person’s home, to hospital to palliative care, a journey of ageing. It’s stylistic, not hyper real.’’
It’s a play with heart, albeit a failing one, competitive dying as Newport puts it. Devenie sums it up with one of his favourite lines from the play.
‘‘Alex’s character says ‘your parents don’t just teach you how to live, they teach you how to die’ and that right there is such an accurate observation.’’
Unholy Ghosts opens on Saturday at Centrepoint Theatre and runs until October 17.